Former Northern Colorado youth basketball coach sentenced for sexually abusing teen player

Editor’s note: This story includes references to child sexual assault. Learn more about local resources for sexual assault survivors in the information included in this story.

A former Northern Colorado youth basketball coach has been sentenced after admitting to sexually assaulting a teen girl he coached.

Terel Hughes, now 33, pleaded guilty in April to sexual assault on a child in a position of trust and sexual contact without consent. A third charge was dismissed by the district attorney’s office as part of a plea agreement.

Hughes was sentenced to 60 days in jail followed by a four-year supervised deferred sentence, during which he will be in the sex-offender specific intensive probation program, Judge Daniel McDonald said during Thursday’s sentencing.

Hughes will also be required to register as a sex offender and complete sex offender treatment. He will not have access to the internet, sexually explicit material, social media, vision-enhancing devices and drugs or alcohol while on probation, and he cannot contact anyone under the age of 18, McDonald said.

Hughes was arrested in April 2021 for sexually assaulting a teen girl and inappropriately touching another teen while working as their basketball coach at Integrity Sports Arena in Windsor.

Integrity Sports Arena owner Marty Bertolette said in a previous statement that Hughes was fired after his arrest. In that statement, Bertolette said he found out about these allegations Jan. 2, 2021, and immediately suspended Hughes and reported the allegations to police.

Between January and April 2021, while the incident was under investigation, Hughes continued to work remotely as the tournament and league director for Integrity Sports Arena, with no access to the facility and only contact with adults, according to the statement.

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In a statement to the court Thursday, the first victim to report to police said that basketball used to be a source of joy, direction and stability in her life, but that was robbed from her when her coach — Hughes — manipulated her and used his position of trust to sexually abuse her.

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She told the judge Hughes assaulted her on multiple occasions in multiple places, including at Integrity Sports Arena, in his car and in her bedroom when her parents were not home.

She said she didn’t want to speak up in part because she was afraid of how her teammates, friends and others would react. When she did speak up, she said she found that “all my fears were completely valid.”

After reporting the abuse to police, she stopped playing basketball, was ostracized by her friends and teammates and was called a liar and other cruel names, she told McDonald. But she decided to speak up “to stop Terel from hurting others and to get justice.”

“It took me a while to realize I have a voice and now I’m using it,” she said.

Deputy District Attorney Amanda Duhon said Hughes admitted to some of the allegations but continues to minimize what happened, including in a call with one of the victim’s parents before police were involved where Hughes reportedly said his actions were in a “gray area.”

“There’s no gray area for coaches and players. There’s no gray area for adults and children,” Duhon said.

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In a statement to McDonald, Hughes said he wanted to apologize to the victims, their families and anyone else hurt by his actions and that he hopes therapy and treatment will help him.

Hughes’ attorney Erik Fischer said Hughes started treatment on his own and has been in therapy for months, which shows how he is taking responsibility.

“My client does admit this was not right,” Fischer said. “… He couldn’t feel worse.”

Duhon said Integrity Sports “shares some blame in this case,” and accused the staff of obstructing the Windsor police investigation and making Hughes feel “protected.”

“This is all a part of a pattern that Integrity Sports allowed to go on,” Duhon said. “That’s why their female coaches didn’t feel comfortable coming forward. That’s why their female players didn’t feel comfortable coming forward.”

Bertolette told the Coloradoan on Thursday that he cooperated with investigators in every step of the process.

“When the allegation and information was reported to me, I immediately called the Windsor Police Department and reported it, as is my responsibility,” he said. “As far as the investigation, I was 100% cooperative in providing any and all information that they requested.”

Integrity Sports Arena staff and coaches are screened and go through a safety check, Bertolette said. After this incident, he said the organization partnered with Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center to hold educational and support forums for staff, coaches and players. They’ve also added new security cameras in the facility, he said.

“Our hearts go out to the victims and they’re families, and we hope this is the first step for recovery for the victims, us and the community,” Bertolette said.

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Here are community organizations in Larimer County that support survivors of sexual assault:

If you have been the victim of a crime, contact your local law enforcement agency:

Sady Swanson covers public safety, criminal justice, Larimer County government and more throughout Northern Colorado. You can send your story ideas to her at sswanson@coloradoan.com or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Former Northern Colorado youth sports coach sentenced to jail